My take is, there's no completely "fair" and "merit-based" way to measure university applicants. But can we approximate by using a ranking based solely on grade

My take is, there's no completely "fair" and "merit-based" way to measure university applicants. But can we approximate by using a ranking based solely on grades and financials? leave out essays (that can be paid for), race, extra curriculars, legacy etc. Adding some randomness (lottery for people on the same band) is an extra idea.